Threatened species and communities

What are threatened species?

Threatened plant and animal species are those which may be vulnerable to extinction in the wild due to low populations, highly restricted distributions and habitats or continued threatening processes. Threatened species are a widely used indicator of the status of biodiversity. Criterion 9 of the World Heritage Conventionrecognises threatened species as part of biodiversity values.

Threatened species in the Wet Tropics

The Wet Tropics is has a high proportion of threatened species, many of which are also rare or endemic. They include some iconic species such as the southern cassowary and the mahogany glider, but most of them are little known, particularly the plants, frogs and invertebrates. The high level of threatened species is related to the unique evolution of the flora and fauna in the Wet Tropics, as well as loss of habitat due to forest clearing and changes to water and fire regimes.

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Legislative categories

It can be hard keeping up with the number of listed species because the categories and specific criteria may change. For instance, 'rare' is no longer a category for threatened species under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.

Species classed as endangered and vulnerable are considered to have endured population declines and to be at immediate risk of disappearing from the wild as a result of threatening processes. The high proportion of presumed extinct, endangered and vulnerable plants found in the Wet Tropics, compared to the rest of Queensland, reflects the vulnerability, small population size and restricted distribution of many of the region’s locally endemic plants and the pattern and legacy of past forest clearing. The presumed extinct species, in general, have not been recorded for over 50 years.

Rare species are not presently considered threatened per se. However, rare species have small geographic ranges or low local abundances, patchily distributed within their ranges. These attributes can place them at risk. Plant and animal species are listed under the following categories under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) or the Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA).

EPBC Act

Nature Conservation Act

Extinct

Extinct in the wild

Critically endangered

Endangered

Vulnerable

Conservation dependant

Not listed

Extinct in the wild

Endangered

Vulnerable

Near threatened

Least concern

Not protected

Recovery plans and threatening processes

Recovery Plans may be developed for threatened animals, plants and ecological communities listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. They set out the research and management actions necessary to stop the decline of a species and how to support its recovery. Recovery Plans have been developed for the following species and vegetation communties:

Listed threatened species in the Wet Tropics

The tables in the section below shows current categories and numbers of threatened species under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and the Nature Conservation Act 1992 in June 2015. Species with recovery plans under the EPBC Act are listed further below.

Wet Tropics fauna and flora listed under the EPBC Act (June 2015). Numbers in brackets are the number of species endemic to the Wet Tropics.

Extinct

Critically Endangered

Endangered

Vulnerable

Total

Fauna

1 (1)

4 (2)

19 (8)

9 (3)

33 (14)

Flora

11 (4)

4 (1)

28 (15)

40 (19)

83 (39)

Wet Tropics fauna and flora listed under the NCA (June 2015). Numbers in brackets are the number of species endemic to the Wet Tropics.

Extinct

Endangered

Vulnerable

Total

Fauna

0

20 (10)

30 (12)

50 (22)

Flora

13 (5)

49 (27)

130 (83)

192 (115)

Summary table of the listed threatened animals and plants of the Wet Tropics under the EPBC Act (June 2015).

Numbers in brackets are the number of species endemic to the Wet Tropics.

Animals

Extinct

Critically Endangered

Endangered

Vulnerable

Total

Amphibians

1 (1)

2 (2)

5 (5)

1 (1)

9 (9)

Birds

7 (0)

4 (0)

11 (0)

Insects

Mammals

1 (0)

6 (2)

2 (1)

9 (3)

Reptiles

2 (1)

2 (1)

Freshwater fish

1 (0)

1 (1)

2 (1)

Total

1 (1)

4 (2)

19 (8)

9 (3)

33 (14)

Plants

Club mosses

2 (0)

1 (0)

2 (0)

3 (2)

8 (2)

Cycads

1 (0)

1 (0)

Ferns

5 (1)

4 (1)

7 (3)

16 (5)

Higher dicots

1 (1)

3 (1)

7 (4)

22 (13)

33 (19)

Lower dicots

2 (2)

2 (2)

Monocots

2 (2)

13 (8)

7 (1)

22 (11)

Whisk ferns

1 (0)

1 (0)

Total

11 (4)

4 (1)

28 (15)

40 (19)

83 (39)

Summary table of the listed threatened animals and plants of the Wet Tropics under the NCA (June 2015).

Numbers in brackets are the number of species endemic to the Wet Tropics.

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Our mission is to lead, inspire, advise and support the Australian and global community to protect and share the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area in perpetuity.

We acknowledge Rainforest Aboriginal people as the traditional custodians of the Wet Tropics and recognise their connection to this cultural landscape. We pay our respect to Elders past, present and future.